It was nine years ago today that Philadelphia lost an icon, a voice that transcended generations and signified the joys of hot summer days on stoops across the region.

Veteran play-by-play announcer Harry Kalas fell in the broadcast booth at Nationals Park in Washington on April 13, 2009, succumbing to heart disease just hours before the first pitch of a contest between the Phillies and Nationals.

Kalas was hired by the Phillies in 1971 as the club moved into Veterans Stadium. He called six no-hit games, six National League Championship Series, and three World Series. He also broadcast the last game at the Vet and the first at Citizens Bank Park.

Your browser does not support iframes.

"Baseball announcers have a special bond with their audience, and Harry represented the best of baseball not only to the fans of the Phillies, but to fans everywhere," commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.

Kalas received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 and two years later was named Person of the Year by the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia.
_____________________________________________